dream, that's the thing to do
by Victoria Kit
Summary: Cait and Nora have a late night talk.


Their conversations during the day were often brief, minimal; that wasn't to say that Cait never spoke to Nora, nor vise versa, but that there were so many other things to focus on, other than idle chitchat. The Commonwealth never lacked, when it came to intensity; never a dull moment, and so forth. Cait, for all of the aggressive big talk she used, wasn't over the top _talkative_ ; there were a few occasions where she would use some colorful profanity, direct a complaint about how disgusting the room they passed through smelled, or even occasionally compliment the shape and figure of Nora's rear end. That was fair; deep conversations weren't entirely necessary when Super Mutants or aggressive feral ghouls were an immediate risk.

During the stillness of the night, however, when there were voids to be filled and the sound of distant gunshots rattled softly in the distance, it was all a different story.

Cait had nightmares. Nora did too, of course, though surprisingly, even with Cait's lack of a verbal filter, she never gave Nora any trouble or questioned it. Cait's own nightmares were a bit more audible. Every so often, when Nora was kept awake, haunted by her so very distant past and her so very close collision with it, she would hear the other woman. It was most frequently a mere stirring, a discontent grunt, heavy breathing. Nora was afraid to even _dare_ wonder what Cait dreamt about, given her violent and abusive upbringing. Even after getting the necessary treatment and cure for her Psycho addiction, Cait's nightmares still remained just as frequent as they had in the beginning; neither more nor less nightmares.

On a night like this, however, Cait wasn't having those nightmares, and neither was Nora; in fact, both of the women lay awake, sharing an old mattress inside of an anonymous abandoned shack of a home. Cait lay on her back, one arm up near the pillow, the other resting on her stomach. Nora was on her side, facing Cait, eyes closed, though they would occasionally flicker open at the sound of the house's creaking, a sure sign of her inability to feel safe in the wasteland. She remained in silence, listening to Cait's breathing, even, but not necessarily relaxed. Something about it told Nora that things weren't going so well in the mental department for her lover.

It was Nora who first broke the silence.

"Cait?" Her voice was quiet, hushed - a bit cautioned, even.

Cait turned her attention to Nora, moving her arm that she had behind her head to her side. "Hm? What is it?"

The question came out of Nora's mouth before she had much time to consider its gravity. "What you said a while back, about your parents making you sleep outside… was that true?"

Cait stiffened, Nora could feel her breathing come to a sudden pause, and when she realized how awful a question that could have been, she felt her heart racing, wondering just how big of a mistake she had made. Cait began to breathe once again after a moment, however, coming in the form of a long sigh.

"Well, you don't think I was bein' sarcastic or makin' a joke about that, do you?"

Picking her head up just slightly, Nora shook her head quickly, replying as soon as she could. "No, not at all- I mean, I didn't mean to ask that, if it was a sore spot, or something- I- I'm so sorry."

Again, Cait was quiet, and every second that ticked by gave Nora another boost of anxiety, an overwhelming sense of guilt that she may have reminded her lover of something terrible from the past. When Cait responded finally, her voice was low, taking a more softened tone than usual.

"It is what it is," she said, giving a lethargic and exhausted shrug of her shoulders. "Yeah, I was tellin' the truth. I never had my own bedroom, growing up, and my parents never wanted to give me one."

"I'm sorry," Nora replied, her sympathetic expression likely unreadable in the darkness. There was barely any illumination in the small shack, with the exception of the moonlight that peaked through cracks in the roofs or through the clouded, murky windows on both sides of the house. She knew that Cait did not love receiving pity, and that she definitely didn't love being handled with condescension. Nora could only hope her genuine apology, much like a condolence, would not end up misinterpreted. "You deserve better. You deserve the best; you know that, right?"

"I'm certainly not used to being given the best," Cait remarked in response, turning her head to face Nora, "but I appreciate you saying that. I think you're probably the only one who feels that way."

Leaning in toward Cait, Nora placed a gentle kiss on the crook of Cait's neck. "I know for a fact that you're worthy of good things," she murmured, letting out a soft breath. It tickled the other woman, causing an unintentional chuckle come from her.

"Hey, easy with the breathin' on me neck," she snickered in the lightest manner, not cheerful from the weight of the conversation but still finding the smallest amount of humor from her lover's gesture. "It's a bit much."

Nora grinned slightly, a hint of mischief in her question, "What, are you ticklish?"

"No offense, lovely," Cait replied, reaching over to ruffle Nora's hair, "but I'm not tellin' you that. I may be in love, but what would _I_ do if I revealed just how ticklish I was?"

"Point taken," was Nora's response. For a moment, there was a pause, another silence between the two of them, and it seemed the brief and lighthearted exchange the two shared had withered away. Nora listened softly to the sounds of the Wasteland again, wondering what had caused a sudden yet very distant explosion. By now, her ears were trained to recognize the first hint of danger. Fortunately, that danger was far enough away not to worry about. She let out a small breath, and while she felt calm for the most part, there was a certain restlessness about her.

"Hey, Cait?"

"Yeah?"

"When this is all over," Nora began, shifting her position so she was propped upon her elbow whilst laying on the bed, "When all of this is over… When all of this bullshit with the factions is said and done… You know, provided we live through this… We're going to find somewhere good to live. Somewhere safe." _Well, as safe as the Commonwealth could get,_ she added internally. Reaching over with her free hand, she ran her fingers through Cait's hair - a bit unwashed and unkempt, but no less soft, no less lovely. Her hair was worn, yet beautiful and lovable; just like Cait herself was. "I'm going to give you the best damn bedroom I can build."

"Oh - _wow_ ," was Cait's response, and Nora took a moment to ponder as to whether it was sarcastic or not. The genuine tone of Cait's voice as she continued, however, reassured her that her words had no malice or mockery behind them. "Would you really do that for me?"

"Absolutely. It could have anything you want in there, any kind of decorations, or _anything_. _Hell_ , the whole house could. Maybe the idea of a _domestic dream home_ isn't practical anymore, not in _this_ time, but - we could make something work. We could make it nice, and… well, _livable_."

Cait took the next opportunity to pull Nora closer, knocking the pre-war woman off of her previous position in favor of closeness. "This is why you're fuckin' amazing, Nora. You're always giving me somethin' to look forward to, and you're so damn _nice_ to me."

"I just want you to be happy, Cait. If anyone's earned the right to a happy life, it's you."

"Can we mount a Deathclaw head in the bedroom, then?"

Nora smirked sleepily. "Absolutely. We can mount twenty, if that would make you happy."

"Damn right, it would." Leaning over, Cait pressed a kiss on Nora's cheek. "You really are a woman after me own heart, aren't you?"

"Anything for you, babe," Nora replied. After a moment, she glanced over to her Pip-Boy, which dully illuminated the darkness of the shack. Taking a brief glance at the current time, she felt the growing urge to yawn. "I'd say I'm ready to pass out, right about now."

"Yeah, you get your sleep. We've got a long day ahead of us tomorrow, and a _lot_ of opportunities to _nearly_ die."

Nora laughed quietly, low enough to be heard only by Cait. "One of the many perks of living in the _good old Commonwealth_. At least it's never boring."

"That's one way to word it," replied Cait. Lovingly so, she gave Nora a kiss once more, this time on the lips, before leaning back into her pillow. "G'night, lover."

Nora smiled after the kiss, giving a small nod of her head. Even after Cait had expressed her gratitude, Nora herself couldn't help but feel entirely honored to have Cait accompanying her. Not only that, but Cait was more than a mere companion - she was the honest love of her life. She was a damn gift to this hellish world, and she wouldn't dare go about things without finding a way to give Cait the absolute _best_.

"Goodnight, Cait. I love you."


End file.
